Viltrox AF 35 mm f/1.7 Air
10. Autofocus and focus breathing
Autofocus
We tested the autofocus of the Viltrox AF 35 mm f/1.7 Air by joining it to the Fujifilm X-T2 and X-T3. In both cases the performance of the mechanism was noiseless and quick. Running through the full distance range and confirming the focus took typically 0.4-0.5 of a second. The movement was often slowed down a bit by very slight and quick wavering near the proper position of the focus.When it comes to the accuracy of the mechanism we noticed some differences between both bodies. The older X-T2 cooperated with the Viltrox much worse and, as a result, we noticed really a lot of misses. There were also moments when autofocus kept missing for the third or the fourth time in a row and only the next shutter release managed to put it right.
Using the newer X-T30 body improved the work culture significantly, with far less misses and wavering, but still the performance was worse than the performance of brand Fujinons.
The tested Viltrox dealt the best with the X-E5 model equipped with 40-Mpix V generation sensor. Even in weaker lighting there were no misses, with focus hitting the right point all the time. The situations when AF wavered around the right point didn't disappear completely but still, they were very short, and finally the focus was set properly well.
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The photo below shows clearly that the tested Viltrox didn't have any noticeable front or back focus tendency. You can only notice a slight focus shift toward greater distances but the object of your photo remains within the proper focus. Mind you this photo was taken near the minimum focusing distance where the bar is raised the highest.
| Fujifilm X-T2, f/1.7 |
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Focus breathing
Focus breathing tests show reframing images as you oversharp them. We conduct the test by manually passing from the minimum focusing distance to infinity with the aperture stopped down; then we check how the field of view of the lens changed as a result.A frame change ranging from 0 to 5% we consider to be low. Between 5 and 10% you can speak about medium levels. Usually such values constitute also the maximum efficiency level of any breathing compensation algorithms, present in some bodies. Between 10 and 15% focus breathing is high, above 15% its level can be called very high.
Below we present the test video of the Viltrox lens:
